- Oct 19, 2004
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- 50,713
I've pondered this long and hard for a very long time and I really can't come up with a difinative answer.
We had never really had players that the top teams coveted, certainly not to the tune of £18-30 million before Carrick came along.
The only notable exceptions in recent years were United taking Sheringham off us to polish their bench with his arse and Barca taking Popescu. Before that you rally have to go back to Gaza for a major sale to a big european club (unless I'm forgetting someone).
But now, credit to Levy, Comolli, Arnesen we have started buying real quality players that often increase in value.
People often bleat about us being a selling club but it is nowhere near that simple. To survive and flourish a club - be they privately owned or not - must turn a buck. Must make some profit to invest in all areas, especially the playing staff. You sell a Carrick you buy a Lennon, Huddlestone, Ekotto & a Berbatov. You sell a Berbatov you buy a Palcios, Pavlyuchenko and a Bale.
Just as we are only really vulnerable to a United, Arsenal have proved to be vulnerable to Real Madrid or Barca. It's the evoloutionary food chain.
And as we have seen with people like Arsharvin, Hleb, Viera, Henry, Figo etc etc. when aplayer wants a move it is fucking hard to actually prevent it. All you can do is dig your heals in and make it hurt the the club that buys him as much as possible.
But.....and there is a but. We are a rich club, one of the richest and best run clubs in world football. Could we, and should we try to make a stand the next time this happens. Say Man U come in for Modric. Should we do say fuck it, you can rot in the reserves, we'll write off your - not incosiderable - wages and the 25 million quid we could wisely invest elsewhere and say bollocks to you and ManU. Obviously we would try to say it nicer to Modric. But you get the drift.
It's a fucking toughie isn't it. Ok so if told he can't go he'll still play because you could dock his wages if he refused to play but you've then got a player whose hear is very much not in it effecting the dressing room etc.
I would favour a quiet word, ie to the effect. Listen Luka, we love you here and we will offer you an uber contract but under no circumstances will we sell you as we intend to reach the top4 and if we sell you we never will etc etc. A bit of tough love. But if that doesn't work and he and his ambitious (for his 10%) agent keep stirring it, a la Berbatov then....
What should we do ?
We had never really had players that the top teams coveted, certainly not to the tune of £18-30 million before Carrick came along.
The only notable exceptions in recent years were United taking Sheringham off us to polish their bench with his arse and Barca taking Popescu. Before that you rally have to go back to Gaza for a major sale to a big european club (unless I'm forgetting someone).
But now, credit to Levy, Comolli, Arnesen we have started buying real quality players that often increase in value.
People often bleat about us being a selling club but it is nowhere near that simple. To survive and flourish a club - be they privately owned or not - must turn a buck. Must make some profit to invest in all areas, especially the playing staff. You sell a Carrick you buy a Lennon, Huddlestone, Ekotto & a Berbatov. You sell a Berbatov you buy a Palcios, Pavlyuchenko and a Bale.
Just as we are only really vulnerable to a United, Arsenal have proved to be vulnerable to Real Madrid or Barca. It's the evoloutionary food chain.
And as we have seen with people like Arsharvin, Hleb, Viera, Henry, Figo etc etc. when aplayer wants a move it is fucking hard to actually prevent it. All you can do is dig your heals in and make it hurt the the club that buys him as much as possible.
But.....and there is a but. We are a rich club, one of the richest and best run clubs in world football. Could we, and should we try to make a stand the next time this happens. Say Man U come in for Modric. Should we do say fuck it, you can rot in the reserves, we'll write off your - not incosiderable - wages and the 25 million quid we could wisely invest elsewhere and say bollocks to you and ManU. Obviously we would try to say it nicer to Modric. But you get the drift.
It's a fucking toughie isn't it. Ok so if told he can't go he'll still play because you could dock his wages if he refused to play but you've then got a player whose hear is very much not in it effecting the dressing room etc.
I would favour a quiet word, ie to the effect. Listen Luka, we love you here and we will offer you an uber contract but under no circumstances will we sell you as we intend to reach the top4 and if we sell you we never will etc etc. A bit of tough love. But if that doesn't work and he and his ambitious (for his 10%) agent keep stirring it, a la Berbatov then....
What should we do ?